1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to a golf ball marker and, more particularly, to a golf ball marker magnetically attached to a pinned button worn on the golfer's clothing.
2. Discussion Of The Related Art
The game of golf is a well known and popular sport. Typically, up to four golfers play a "round" of golf together. During a round of golf, the golfers generally take turns hitting their respective golf balls towards the hole or "pin" in an organized fashion. Golf etiquette calls for the player farthest from the pin to be the next player to hit his golf ball. When all of the players are on the "green" area surrounding the pin, the players continue the game by "putting" their respective golf ball towards, and hopefully into, the hole. Once again, the position of the golf balls dictates who's turn it is such that the player farthest from the pin is the first to putt his golf ball. With up to three other golf balls lying on the green in their respective positions closer to the hole, it is likely that one or more of these balls will be in the "line" of the player putting such that the ball may block the hole from the ball of the putting player. Additionally, the closer players' balls may lie beyond the hole from the putting player, but still may be in jeopardy of being hit. The game allows for penalty strokes to be assessed to the player whose ball is hit by another player's ball. Also, a player may wish to pick up his ball to wipe off dirt or other matter which may impede the ball from rolling in a smooth fashion. The occasion therefore arises when players want to or are obligated to "mark" their ball with some type of marking device which lies flat on the green, and thus, is not an obstacle to the player who is putting.
Golf ball markers come in a variety of styles. A ball marker is, however, typically a round flat object of an inconspicuous nature. Known golf ball markers may be of either a plastic or metal material. For the most part, prior art golf ball markers are carried in the pocket of the golfer, typically intermingled with other items such as golf tees, change, etc. until the need arises for its use. The golfer must therefore retrieve the ball marker from his pocket when it is needed. This procedure may provide a certain degree of irritation to the golfer in that the golfer may have to vigorously search for the ball marker within the pocket. Because putting is typically the part of the golf game requiring the most finesse, a limited amount of frustration, such as could be generated by having to search for a ball marker within the golfer's pocket, may cause this frustration to be carried over to the actual act of putting a short time later. Further, the act of searching for a ball marker in a pocket may cause a golfer to actually damage or rip the pocket itself. Consequently, the need to carry a ball marker in a golfer's pocket during a round of golf may have a detrimental effect on the game itself.
What is needed is a golf ball marker which is readily accessible to the golfer during a round of golf. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a golf ball marker.